A/HRC/15/WG.2/TF/2 49. In his introduction, the Chairperson-Rapporteur recalled that the task force had already addressed the debt relief issue at its first session, in 2004, and at its fifth session, in 2009, and had benefited from detailed presentations by representatives of IMF and the World Bank. Nevertheless, addressing debt relief at the current session was a welcomed opportunity to review in greater depth the implications of this issue for the right to development. 50. The representatives of the World Bank and IMF presented the debt relief issue in the context of their respective programmes, including the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the Debt Reduction Facility, the Debt Sustainability Framework, the Debt Management Facility and the International Development Association. After providing an overview of these initiatives, including their rationale, functioning, current status of implementation and contribution to poverty reduction, they explained how the initiatives had contributed to an increase in social expenditures. Both presentations provided examples of specific countries whose involvement in the initiatives have brought about tangible improvements in social sectors thanks to substantial increases in public expenditure. According to the World Bank, postcompletion point countries were typically better off in terms of their capacity to address development challenges. The combined impact of the two main initiatives, on heavily indebted poor countries and multilateral debt relief, was approximately $100 billion.2 51. The World Bank and IMF also acknowledged the challenges faced by these initiatives, including taking the remaining eligible countries, some of which were facing challenging political or security situations, through the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative; ensuring full participation of some groups of creditors, particularly non-Paris Club bilateral creditors, private creditors and smaller multilateral creditors; and ensuring that both initiatives are fully financed. They also cautioned that, while debt relief frees up resources that can be used for development objectives, it needs to be complemented by additional financing if the Millennium Development Goals are to be reached. In addition, debt relief cannot guarantee permanently the sustainability of debt for any given country. Reaching the goals and maintaining debt sustainability also greatly depend on policies and strategies to maximize the benefits derived from debt relief. 52. In his presentation, the independent expert critically assessed the performance of debt relief initiatives in the light of their contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the reduction of poverty and the creation of conditions for the full realization of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights. Financial resources channelled to developing countries that benefited from such programmes were substantially below the pressing development needs of these countries. He challenged the claim that the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief initiatives and other debt relief initiatives had any notable impact on poverty reduction or that they induced a significant increase in public expenditure in social sectors. 53. The independent expert discussed several factors that explain the shortcomings of debt relief initiatives, among them, their lengthy conditionality requirements, lack of effective debtor country ownership, lack of additionality and a narrow conception of debt sustainability. Elaborating on the latter point, he stressed that the two initiatives under discussion excluded many heavily indebted and poor middle-income countries on the 2 12 The representative alluded to a more detailed analysis available in the proceedings of a conference on debt relief and beyond, organized by the World Bank in 2008, drawing on contributions from 31 experts. See Carlos A. Primo Braga and Dörte Dömeland (eds.), Debt Relief and Beyond. Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead, the World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2009. GE.10-11443